Railer netters second at AV-CTL I

Tuesday

Apr 30, 2013 at 5:01 PM

By Mark Schnabel Newton Kansan

MAIZE — The Newton High School boys' tennis team took second Monday at the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League Division I Championships in Maize. Salina Central claimed the top two spots in both singles and doubles play, winning the league title with 52 points. Newton was second with 34 points, followed by Maize in third with 29 points. "(I'm) very proud of our men's tennis today," Newton coach Nick Sisson said. "They are a great group of guys. We have set ourselves up to hopefully qualify multiple entries to state competition." In singles play, Umberto Rossetto of Salina Central downed teammate Jack Weiner 6-0, 6-1, 10-3 (tie breaker) in the finals. Newton's Yannick Rave took fourth. Freshman Adam Ford took eighth. "Yannick did well today," Sisson said. "He fought hard to win in the quarterfinals after facing two match points against him. He's put himself in a good position to qualify for state competition. Adam injured his back in his first match, but kept fighting all day. He was the highest finishing freshman in the draw." In the doubles finals, Thomas Hampton and Jeffrey Michel of Salina Central downed teammates Justin Bengston and Nathan Garlow 6-3, 2-6, 10-2 (tie-breaker). For Newton, Josh Carlgren and Riley Kingsley took third. Preston Ford and Shawn Bontrager finished seventh. "Josh and Riley lost a tight match against the eventual champions in the semifinals," Sisson said. "We had lots of opportunities, thankfully we'll see those teams again at regionals. They showed a lot of guts coming back to win their third place match. Preston and Shawn had a very good day as well. They had to work for wins from the first match and even gave the number two seed a scare early on." Newton competes in the Class 5A regional tournament at 10 a.m. Friday at Salina Central High School's courts with Great Bend, Hays, Maize South and Valley Center. The top six singles and doubles finishers advance to state May 10 and 11 at Emporia High School.